Casualty is one of the BBC's longest-running drama series, having been launched on 6th September 1986. Set in the A&E Department of the fictional Holby City Hospital, in Bristol, it was created by Paul Unwin and Jeremy Brock.
Inspired by the "comedy and heroics" of life in the NHS, the series has a regular cast of hospital staff, who deal with different patients, each with their own problems, every week. Viewers get to know the staff behind their public face, taking a glimpse at their personal lives and relationships.
There have been 37 series to date of Casualty, comprising 1,257 episodes. The writers didn't think it would run beyond one series, after it provoked political controversy, mainly due to its negative portrayal of the NHS and criticisms of the government at the height of the Margaret Thatcher years.
Casualty's origins
Casualty came into existence as a result of the demise of its predecessor, Angels, a long-running BBC drama about student nurses. The BBC had two ideas for its replacement: the "safe" option about life at a cottage hospital, or a riskier and more hard-hitting A&E drama.
Brock, a writer on Casualty until 2021, was a young script writer at the BBC at the time, while his friend, Unwin, who left the show in 2017, was working at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre. They both had experience of hospital stays and thought about writing something about an accident and emergency department.
Alerted by a BBC memo looking for ideas, they decided to write a script. Inspired by the style of Hill Street Blues, they used their brief first-hand experience of A&E as a basis for the show.
Unwin had spent five months in hospital and the writers decided to base the plot on the reality of life for nursing and medical staff, rather than the schmaltzy versions of hospital life they had seen in previous shows. Unwin said he believed doctors and nursing staff were "amazing" but portraying them as unblemished people was inaccurate.
To help write the script, they spoke to real-life medical staff at Bristol Royal Infirmary, including staff nurse Peter Salt. He became the basis for their leading character, Charlie Fairhead, played by Derek Thompson, who has starred in Casualty from the outset. Salt stayed with the show for around 30 years, while continuing with his nursing career. He read every script and ensured it was medically sound.
Controversy
The show became controversial when the government and the Royal College of Nursing objected to the "negative" way the staff, in particular the nurses, were portrayed. The Conservative MP Edwina Currie told the House of Commons the BBC was making an "anti-NHS drama".
The story appeared in the Sunday Times and the writers were expecting the series to be dropped. Summoned to the Royal College of Nursing conference in Nuneaton, accompanied by Salt, they were required to sit on a panel and answer questions from irate senior nursing staff. However, the writers convinced the RCN that they supported the NHS and were trying to present a true-life picture, rather than deliberately disrespecting them.
After getting the RCN onside, Casualty went from strength to strength, attracting around six million viewers per episode.
Main characters
Charlie Fairhead is the only character from the original show to still be there today. The founders described him as the "lynchpin" of Casualty. It's impossible to imagine the show without him, as he has played a pivotal role in every series.
Another stalwart, Suzanne Packer, played senior staff nurse Tess Bateman from 2003 to 2015. Her agent arranged an audition and Packer liked the role because she said she identified with Bateman's "professional competence and high standards". After a "relaxed audition" reading the script with the casting director, she was offered the job just a few hours later.
Cathy Shipton played nurse Lisa "Duffy" Duffin in the first eight series, before leaving in 1993 and reprising her role in 1998 for another five years. She took part in the show's 20th anniversary celebrations in 2006 and appeared in the 30th series in 2015, with Duffy marrying Charlie along the way.
The characters and the actors who play themhave become household names. A survey by Radio Times in 2004 found Casualty had featured more future stars than any other British drama series or soap.
Actors who have gone on to become celebrities after appearing in Casualty include Minnie Driver, Orlando Bloom, Kate Winslet, Christopher Eccleston, Sadie Frost, David Walliams, Ray Winstone, Jonny Lee Miller, Helen Baxendale, Robson Green and more.
Filmed at the BBC's Cardiff studios, Roath Lock, with outdoor shots filmed around South Wales, Casualty is aimed at being as realistic and gritty as possible, without the glamour of some of its counterparts.
Memorable moments
Casualty prides itself on its realism, with scenes focusing on life in the operating theatre and on the wards. As well as the day-to-day dramas of life at the hospital, there have been some dramatic and memorable moments that viewers will never forget.
In 2016, a helicopter crash spelled disaster for the staff and patients of Holby City Hospital. An emergency air ambulance spun out of control above the hospital and crashed into an ambulance outside the emergency department, as the staff planned a surprise party to celebrate Charlie Fairhead's 30th year at Holby City.
The episode dealt with the aftermath of the crash, with victims suffering horrific injuries and the A&E department having to be temporarily closed due to the damage.
In 1989, in an episode entitled Chain Reaction, a police officer was among the casualties when a lorry carrying corrosive hydrochloric acid was involved in a traffic accident. As acid spilled into the road, other vehicles were impacted in the pile-up, which became a major incident.
Holby City
The medical drama, Holby City, was created for the BBC as a spin-off from Casualty in 1999. It ran for 23 series, comprising 1,102 episodes, with its own main characters and a small number of crossover characters from both series. There were several dedicated episodes: Casualty@Holby City was broadcast as a combination of both shows.
Holby City won ten television awards in its own right, including the British Academy Television Award 2008 for Best Continuing Drama. Cancelled in March 2022, despite regular viewing figures of four million per episode, the BBC announced the move as part of sweeping changes to make more programmes across the UK, with the intention of better reflecting the viewing public.
The cancellation was panned by fans and TV critics and an online petition was launched, receiving thousands of signatures, to bring it back. So far, Holby City remains off air.
Casualty shows no signs of slowing down in terms of its success, with a You Gov poll in 2022 revealing a massive 93% of the British public have either heard of it or watch it.
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